Gerry RitzConservativeMinister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board

What a diatribe, Mr. Speaker. We need to raise the quality of debate in the House, not lower it.

The Minister of Health is doing an admirable job. We work in partnership with our provincial colleagues in public health, as well as the federal department of public health. Everyone is anxious to get to the bottom of this and move on.

Gerry RitzConservativeMinister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board

Mr. Speaker, we will never apologize for the size of the recall. This is based on science and on protocols that are developed well in advance of these types of situations.

We take this very seriously, which is why we continue to build a robust food safety system. We have Bill S-11 coming to us from the Senate and I am hoping the Liberals will support it when it gets here.

Mr. Speaker, as far as we are concerned, the RCMP does not have to raid our offices.

This is not just an attempt to make a partisan appointment, as was the case at the Port of Québec and the Port of Toronto, for example. We are talking about someone who is facing serious allegations in an inquiry on corruption and collusion that is taking place right now.

Pierre PoilievreConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport

Mr. Speaker, she did not answer the question. Why would her party pose questions in the House of Commons about an appointment that was never made, and one that we do not have the power to make, when her party was caught red-handed accepting $340,000 in illegal union money? That was money that was taken out of the pockets of hard-working, blue collar Canadians who gave no consent for that money to be funneled into the coffers of the NDP. The NDP did not care. It had no shame. The NDP was happy to just scoop up that illegal money--

Mr. Speaker, this morning, we learned that the Chinese embassy organized a party for Canada Border Services officials. Alcohol was flowing so freely that some senior officials were falling down drunk by the end of the party.

This raises concerns about the fact that state secrets may have been leaked during this so-called drunk fest. This is not the first time that we have been exposed in this manner. We have already had a former minister leave extremely confidential documents lying around his girlfriend's place.

Candice BergenConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety

Mr. Speaker, Canadians expect law enforcement officers to act with integrity at all times. The CBSA is looking into the facts of this situation. Anyone found to have behaved inappropriately or acted inappropriately will face sanctions and discipline.

Candice BergenConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety

Mr. Speaker, we are absolutely not indifferent. We, as all Canadians, do expect our law enforcement officers to act with integrity at all times. The CBSA is looking into the facts of the situation. I would think the hon. member would appreciate that and would approve of that. There is due process for this kind of scenario, and anyone found to have acted inappropriately will face sanctions and will face discipline.

Mr. Speaker, NDP MPs day after day recite their tired old socialist talking points: low taxes are bad; trade is bad; business is bad; economic growth is bad. In the NDP world, the solution to everything would be its high tax, big government schemes, such as its job-killing carbon tax which would rip money out of the hands of Canadian families and employers to feed the NDP's big government dreams.

Would the Minister of Foreign Affairs share with the NDP, Parliament and all Canadians the results of our low-tax, pro-trade and pro-growth plan?

Mr. Speaker, the NDP members keep talking down the Canadian economy. They keep complaining that Canadians are not paying enough taxes. That is why they want to impose a $21.5 billion carbon tax on Canadians. The NDP can continue to do this, but Canadians know that our job creation plan is working.

Today we saw the announcement of the creation of more than 50,000 net new jobs. There were 800,000 jobs created, 90% of them full-time, 80% of them in the private sector. That is good news for Canadians.

Mr. Speaker, it is really cute to hear them talk; meanwhile, they do not mention the carbon tax.

Workers are not the only ones paying for the employment insurance reforms. The employers are too. Workers are quitting their jobs because it simply is not worthwhile to work part-time. The employers contribute just like the workers do. Why should they be punished if they need part-time workers? The Conservatives' approach is completely unacceptable.

When will they help employers and workers by fixing the problem with the working while on claim project?

Mr. Speaker, a rising unemployment rate and a higher deficit are not things to cheer about.

I would like to relate a Tim Hortons moment gone bad involving a man who helps keep minor hockey alive in my riding. Robert is 63 years old. He has worked at a hockey rink for over 35 years. He has collected the Canada pension plan since he turned 60 and collects EI for the months the ice is off the rink. Come January, Robert's Canada pension plan will be clawed back 50¢ on the dollar from his EI cheque.

Diane FinleyConservativeMinister of Human Resources and Skills Development

Mr. Speaker, the fact is we have done more to support seniors and make them financially better off than any other government in Canada.

Let us look at the things we brought in and which the NDP opposed. We brought in pension income splitting for seniors. The NDP opposed that. We increased the age tax credit for seniors, not once but twice. The NDP opposed that. We also brought in the largest increase in 25 years to the guaranteed income supplement to help the poorest seniors. As usual, the NDP opposed that too.

Mr. Speaker, like all Canadian children, first nation children deserve a high-quality education. We simply cannot continue to deprive an entire generation of this fundamental right.

And yet, this government continues to make unilateral decisions instead of respecting first nations and working in partnership with them. In Manitoba, for instance, provincial funding in some communities is nearly twice as much per student compared to what the federal government spends on first nation students.

When will the minister commit to investing in and supporting first nation education?

John DuncanConservativeMinister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development

Mr. Speaker, we are taking concrete steps. We are working together with first nations and we are starting to see improved student outcomes. We have comprehensive first nations education agreements in Nova Scotia and British Columbia demonstrating improved student outcomes.

The NDP should stop spreading misinformation and start standing with us as we support first nations students in reaching their goals.

Mr. Speaker, the facts are clear. On first nations reserves across Canada, there are schools that do not have enough paper. They do not have enough materials. The classes are overcrowded. The rooms are full of mould.

When will the minister realize that to fix the crisis, he and his government have to sit down with aboriginal leaders and work with them with respect?

When will the minister and the government negotiate in a meaningful way with first nations? At the end of the day, the question is, how many more generations of aboriginal children have to be deprived of a proper education in Canada?

John DuncanConservativeMinister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development

Mr. Speaker, we are proud of the investments that we have made in first nations education. We are leading an initiative that is long overdue and we expect outcomes. This is what first nations students, their parents and their educators want. It is what we want to work with. We will not be distracted by misinformation and polarization coming from the opposition.

We are investing in individual students. We are also committed to introducing a first nations education act which would improve governance and accountability for first nations.

Mr. Speaker, the government is cancelling the contracts of non-Christian chaplains in federal prisons, thereby requiring inmates of other faiths to turn to Christian chaplains for religious guidance. The minister says he “is not in the business of picking and choosing which religions will be given preferential status”, but by providing funding only for Christian chaplains, he is doing precisely that.

Will the minister recognize this contradiction, reinstate funding for chaplains of all faiths, and uphold the values of freedom of conscience and religion, and equality before the law, as enshrined in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms?

Candice BergenConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada strongly supports freedom of religion for all Canadians.

Last month the Minister of Public Safety asked for an immediate review of the chaplaincy program to ensure that taxpayers' dollars are being used wisely and appropriately. Upon reviewing the program, it was determined that changes were necessary so that this program supports the freedom of religion of inmates while respecting taxpayers' dollars.

Convicted criminals will continue to have access to religious services of their choice on a voluntary basis.